Post Staff Writer
 Former Olympic gymnast turned businesswoman, Iryna Derugina, says she plans to construct a gymnastics complex on the land where Bombay Palace has been operating for four years. (Post photo by Andry Porokhnenko) |
A looming eviction of an Indian restaurant in Kyiv is giving its owners heartburn. And it�s leaving a bad taste in the mouths of its 25 Ukrainian staffers, all of whom were out of work as of Feb. 9. It�s a case that may cause foreign investors in Ukraine to wonder whether the contracts they sign are worth the paper they�re printed on. On one side are the owners and staff of New Bombay Palace restaurant on Druzhby Narodiv Boulevard. On the other is a former Olympic gymnast turned businesswoman, Iryna Derugina. |
Derugina has promised 1,000 child gymnasts, students at her world-famous Derugina School of Gymnastics, a sports complex on the land now occupied by the restaurant. And she has a court order that may force the restaurant to close down.
Sanjay Grover and Oksana Kumar are co-owners of the New Bombay Palace restaurant. Kumar, a Ukrainian, is married to Kuldeep Kumar, who has a hand in managing the restaurant. For the last four years, the restaurant has been serving Indian food to adventurous Kyivans.
Grover and the Kuldeep Kumar came to Kyiv from Delhi seven years ago with the wool business, but moved on to the dining industry after three years. Their establishment, which sits on the corner of a large plot of land just west of Druzhby Narodiv metro station, doubles as a community center for the capital�s growing Indian ex-pat community.
The land where their business sits is about 1,000 square meters, including the parking lot, and is owned by Vadym Zyeldich. He told Grover and the Kumars that he had the rights to the land until 2025. He signed a lease with the two businesspeople to rent the corner plot until 2005. The Indians repaired and refurbished their restaurant, believing they could stay in business there until at least 2020.
On Feb. 6, Kumar and Grover were visited by the militia, who told them that they had three days to vacate the premises, along with their imported Indian furniture and decor.
One problem, however. Kumar and Grover had a lease to rent the property until 2005. But that doesn�t matter, said Derugina�s lawyer, Lyudmyla Atamanchuk.
�In 1993, the entire plot of land was zoned to be a school,� she said, adding that Kumar and Grover signed a contract because they assumed that the financing for the school wouldn�t be found for years to come. They took a risk, she said, and they were wrong.
Derugina, who receives financing from the city, said that she has less than six months to construct a sports complex � which would include a hotel, pool and gym � in time for the European championships in gymnastics to be held this summer in Kyiv.
And, she added, the restaurateurs have known since July that they have to vacate. Kumar and Grover said that they were told nothing until Feb. 6, and they denied learning in July that they would have to clear out.
The men said they question whether contracts are worth anything here, if a judge can veto them on a whim.
�Indian businessmen � and there�s more than 500 in Ukraine right now � create jobs, pay their taxes, which go into Ukraine�s budget, and follow Ukrainian laws to a tee,� said Kumar. �The government of Ukraine and the President said that they would do all that was required to encourage foreign investment in Ukraine. This case may make unbelievers of all foreign investors, and will lead to a bad investment climate in Ukraine.�
Kumar has written letters to the Indian Embassy, the Ukrainian Ministry of External Affairs and the human rights committee. He has also written the United Nations.
According to Kuldeep Kumar, the couple and Grover have sunk more than Hr 800,000 ($150,000) in four years into the business, adding more than Hr 150,000 ($28,000) in taxes to Ukraine�s coffers. They stand to lose all of it if forced to shut down.
Derugina said that she doubts the restaurant�s owners invested as much money as Kumar claims they invested. She said the amount was probably closer to Hr 50,000 ($9,000).
�I want to tell you, there�s been a decision in the court,� said Derugina, referring to the July 22 ruling. According to her, the owners were notified of that ruling in July. �In Canada, they�d be out in five minutes.�
On the morning of Feb. 9, the Indians began disassembling their furniture and packing their imported decor, moving it to the Kumars� garage for storage.
�We don�t want to sue anyone,� Kuldeep Kumar said. �We�re Hindus. We�re peaceful people.�
Restaurant staff, family, and members of the Indian community of Kyiv gathered on Feb. 9 to confront the evictors and support the restaurant.
�Here we have investors in our country, all the way from India, and we�re kicking them out,� said Tamila Horoskivska, mother of Oksana Kumar. �It�s embarrassing.�
Cooks, waitresses and other employees were effectively without jobs as of Feb. 9, since the restaurant did not open for business. But Kuldeep Kumar assured the Post that he will be paying all their salaries in full, at least until the end of the month.
Single mother Tanya Skrypnyk, 27, is now an unemployed waitress. She is trained as a nurse, but, she said, the owners were so good to their staff that she made more money tending to diners than tending to the sick.
�We were always paid on time, and none of us had any desire to work elsewhere,� said Skrypnyk. �Business was very good, and we liked it here.�
Mykola Lyutikov, 57, was New Bombay Palace�s fix-it man. Carpenter, electrician and plumber, he was on Feb. 9 taking apart tables, the last work he�ll do before he�s laid off.
He said that the Kumars and Grover were model employers, supplying loyal staff with free groceries, unlimited tea, and paid-for taxi rides �for the girls� when their shifts ended late.
By the end of the day on Feb. 9, the owners had arranged a 10-day stay on their eviction, and they expect to hear within a few days whether an appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court of Ukraine.
Zyeldich, the owner of the land, is also expecting to hear whether his ownership of the land, which was supposed to be until 2025, will be honored.
Until then, staff at the restaurant - which will remain closed until the decision comes down - are making copies of their resumes in case the decision isn�t in their favor.
The Kumars and Grover, however, may regret their decision to invest in Ukraine, and may take their families, and their money, home to India with them.